540k Special Ebay - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

davidmash · #1 09-03-2007, 06:56 PM

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1936-Mercedes-540K-Special-A-Convertib-1-of-3-produced_W0QQitemZ190148305980QQihZ009QQcategoryZ6315QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Hmmmmm wonder if I can sell a few body parts in time.

Jim B. · #2 09-03-2007, 07:43 PM

These are the grandest of all of them

The 540K (Kompressor)
type A Spezial supercharged cabrio is simply the ultimate Mercedes of all time

Hermann Goering had one of them.

http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z9096/Mercedes-Benz_540K%20Special/default.aspx

Larry Delor · #3 09-03-2007, 09:24 PM

What a beautiful and expensive car!

Think they put two spares on there to help with weight distribution?

Hatterasguy · #4 09-03-2007, 09:56 PM

Look at the W126 in the background!

Awsome car, truely one of the best cars ever made.

truckinik · #5 09-03-2007, 10:03 PM

Wow, What a spectacular car...

t walgamuth · #6 09-03-2007, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larry Delor

What a beautiful and expensive car!

Think they put two spares on there to help with weight distribution?

And to have the peace of mind to carry two spares at a time when tires were a lot less reliable than they are now.

That car had the performance to push the limits of tire technology in 1936!

Tom W

Dubyagee · #7 09-03-2007, 11:48 PM

EBaY drops the listing fees for a month and anyone gets in. Stricter rules is what this calls for.

Btw, Awesome car.

pastmaster · #8 09-04-2007, 12:53 AM

I have worked and driven a 1936 500K B Sindlefingen car, that my friend and mentor Cal Zahn, owned in the last Century. I tell you some of the special things on these cars and his specifically. One thing you have with these cars, is a sense of History and what was going on in the World at the time. Yes, I mean Nazi Germany.

His car was Right Hand Drive, but the speedometer was in Kilometers. I thought it was a car built for The United Kingdom, but it was not. The owners had the option of RHD, in those days,and many chose it if they lived in the Alps and mountains of Europe, because it was safer. The mountain roads were not always safe and no guard rails on the curves was the norm. You could see the edge of the road in the mountains from the Right-side of the car, much better. That's what Zahn was told. The spare tires were mounted in the front fenders, and they were HEAVY. I doubt a normal woman, could have changed a flat tire on the cars of this era.

The Kompressor--Supercharger, was engaged by the throtttle. You would floor it until you reached a firm resistance, and then push it harder and that would mechanically engage the Blower. It had a high pitched shriek and whine. It was designed to be used in passing vehicles or for a burst of speed. The MB engineers made sure that you didn't overdue it and melt the engine, by having a seperate fuel tank of about 2 or 3 US gals. as the superchargers only fuel supply. You would go through this pretty quick, if you were into the Blower, excessively. The Carburator, had it's own circuit of high speed jets, 2 I think, just for the Blower. I restored the carb on this car and I think it had 6 high-speed circuits and jets! The carb became plugged and some of the jets were plugged with debris, causing the 7 liter, straight 8, to blubber and misfire at cruising speeds and misfire on acceleration. This carburator, was a real work of engineering and art, really. I remember it went back together with no big problems, and tuning it, was fun, as we had no idea what the base calibrations were. We called our friend Connie Bouchard, as he specs. and also owned a 1937 540K Coupe, that he had restored. Connie was an expert on anything mechanical. He was a Senior Executive Engineer at Ford Motor Company, and a Rolls-Royce and Mercedes-Benz, expert. You could write a book on Connie, and there are some on this forum, who knew him. But, he has left us.

One thing that wasn't mentioned was the transmission. These cars the 500-540 K series, had a 4 speed manual transmission, with a free-wheeling feature on 4th-overdrive gear. It would click like a ratchet, on the 3-4 upshift, and you had to double-clutch, or blip the throttle to match rpm, in the transmission gears, for it to upshift. I've never seen this on any other car and am still unaware of the engineering purpose, behind it's adoption and use in these cars.

This got longer than I planned, so I'll stop. If anyone has questions or can answer some of mine, please post them. These cars were in a class of their own...and still are!

Ara T. · #9 09-04-2007, 01:12 AM

Thanks for the insight kind sir, that was a very interesting read.

Definitely some of the most visually striking cars ever produced. What is the gauge panel made out of? Mother of pearl or something? http://equalityauctions.com/images/Auctions/TT/36_540K/pages/33.htm

Wild stuff

Jim B. · #10 09-04-2007, 01:15 AM

I wonder how many of them were built by Sindelfingen and how many had bodies built by other karosseries.

Is there some kind of registry for them, or is Mercedes Benz reluctant to release information about owners in the Nazi years about who had them?

How many had well known, royal or celebrity owners? Wasn't one of them given by Hitler to Stalin, who disdained it as capitalist excess, and who passed it on to one of his Generals, where it was discovered at the General's dacha where his son lived, who inherited it, in the south of Russia in about 1962 by a Swedish photographer, who bought it and managed to export it, after which tight export controls were put in place by Russia to prevent such things?

I heard of such a story but can't confirm it. The photographer supposedly printed a coffee table book of classic cars with this on in it

Ara T. · #11 09-04-2007, 01:18 AM

TBH I am surprised we don't have rappers driving these cars around with 20 inch rims or something.

t walgamuth · #12 09-04-2007, 06:01 AM

It probably HAS twenties or more on it already!

Thanks, Paul for the insightful post. These cars are kindof the equivalent of a Duesenberg sj.

I suppose the mb is quicker.

Of course the Duesenberg brothers were born in Germany.

Tom W

LaRondo · #13 09-04-2007, 07:05 AM

I can't believe those folks advertising this automotive artifact as a 6-cyl and than correct it ... it's really painful.

Hatterasguy · #14 09-04-2007, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim B.

I wonder how many of them were built by Sindelfingen and how many had bodies built by other karosseries.

Is there some kind of registry for them, or is Mercedes Benz reluctant to release information about owners in the Nazi years about who had them?

How many had well known, royal or celebrity owners? Wasn't one of them given by Hitler to Stalin, who disdained it as capitalist excess, and who passed it on to one of his Generals, where it was discovered at the General's dacha where his son lived, who inherited it, in the south of Russia in about 1962 by a Swedish photographer, who bought it and managed to export it, after which tight export controls were put in place by Russia to prevent such things?

I heard of such a story but can't confirm it. The photographer supposedly printed a coffee table book of classic cars with this on in it

I'm sure most of the prominant Nazi's owned one. Mercedes is quite about that period for many reasons, but Hitler loved MB, and had a number. Part of the reason is probably because they were in bed with Hitler.

pastmaster · #15 09-04-2007, 08:01 PM

Just a few more thoughts on the 500K.

I mentioned that the seperate fuel tank for the Kompressor, was 2 or 3 US gals. It was smaller, maybe 4 or 5 liters. It was placed in a compartment made for it in he scuttle or firewall, in front of the windshield and in front of the passenger, on a Left hand drive car. On Zahn's RHD 500K, it was in front of the driver, so in a frontal collision you were in the same danger as a Model A Ford, with it's fuel tank placement, but not as much fuel, to feed a fire.

The mechanical fuel pump, was also of a special design to accomodate the fueling of the Kompressor, as well as the normal operation of the engine.

Tom, the wire wheels were only 17" in diameter, and were balanced by washer like weights on certain studs, with a chrome cover and secured by a nut. Tires weren't hard to find as they 6.00 or 6.50 x 17". I think several cars used that size during the era.

The beautiful 540K in the ebay ad has one thing that strikes me as not right with the era. It has red piping on the seats, that's more modern era. In that era it would have most likely been solid in color, or if the owner was in the GesheimPolizei, (Gestapo), which several owners were, would be an accurate statement, the piping would be white, to match their uniform. Color has an impact on all cars and things. Zahn's 1936 was painted Cream with Black wheels, fenders, hood and trunk, black convertible Haartz Cloth top. It really looked sinister and with the War, having ended only 20 years before, Zahn owned this car in the mid-60's, recollections were still fresh. He repainted it Cream one color, and the wheels red. It was a complete change of personality for the car, and the effect it had on the people who saw it. It left the dark-side, in the past.

The car drove smooth and handling was stabile. You were aware of it's great weight, but with the independant suspension, it had an excellent ride. The attention the car commanded was most of the time unwanted, so you had to watch yourself and who was around you. You had to be careful.

These are some more of my recallections. Best Regards, Paul.